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Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has unveiled ‘Project Hero’, a unique version of the new Discovery 5 for the Austrian Red Cross.

Completely bespoke and engineered for trial use by the Austrian Red Cross training centre in Erzberg and Vienna, Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) at Jaguar Land Rover have now launched ‘Project Hero’ – a fully packed 3.0-litre TD6 Discovery 5 - at the Geneva Motor Show.

An advanced communication vehicle, Project Hero has been created not just to continue JLR’s partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), but also to save lives by quickening response times to disasters.

The unique Discovery 5 features a number of innovative new specification highlights to help with the Red Cross’s humanitarian efforts. These include:

Hidden lockable storage located beneath the sliding floor and held in place using an electro-magnetic retainer – although how secretive this is now they have told us is debatable.

Lashings of multiple frequency communications equipment alongside power supply sockets, designed to take multiple plug arrangements from different regions, have also been installed, paired with LED task lights in the rear compartment.

But by far the most impressive technological addition is the roof-mounted drone, which can be controlled from a fully integrated landing system employing self-centring and magnetic retention technology – allowing the drone to land on Project Hero while the Land Rover is on the move.

The drone feeds back live footage to the Red Cross’s emergency response teams, assisting them in a quick and effective manner to shorten response times to floods, avalanches and earthquakes. With these events, dramatic landscape changes can render maps redundant, making rescue tasks more difficult and highly dangerous. The drone will allow rescuers to investigate an emergency scene from a safe distance.

John Edwards, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Managing Director, said: “Land Rover and the team of engineers and designers at SVO are proud to support the incredible humanitarian work of the IFRC and its members.

“The new Discovery is an outstanding all-terrain SUV, and Project Hero is the optimum combination of enhanced capability and innovative technology. We hope to help the Red Cross save lives in emergency situations.”

The relationship between Land Rover and the Red Cross first started in 1954, eventually evolving into a global partnership respected the world over. From Series Is to Discovery 3s, from Angola and Sudan to Dubai and Turkey, wherever there was a humanitarian crisis you could find the humble Land Rover supporting the relief effort.

Dr Jemilah Mahmood, IFRC Under Secretary General for Partnerships, said: “We are grateful to Land Rover for their generous support over the past 60 years, and are proud of our ambitious global partnership that has transformed the lives of millions of people on four continents.

“Project Hero combines the best expertise of the Red Cross and Jaguar Land Rover to create a truly unique vehicle, which we hope will be capable of making a difference to rescue operations in the toughest environments.”

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